Archive: 10 September – 16 September 2012

Boris Johnson will hope he is now seen as a serious figure who can be entrusted with the nuclear deterrent after a poll showed he is more respected than Margaret Thatcher Photograph: Peter Jordan/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image

Boris Johnson will be familiar with the Peter Sellers film Dr Strangelove.

The film, which famously satirises the dangers of having the wrong finger on the nuclear button, highlights the main charge against the London mayor as he strives to succeed David Cameron. Can a man who has made a career out of playing the buffoon be trusted with Britain's nuclear deterrent?

David Cameron is turning into the Tories' new Ted Heath, according to senior Conservatives. Photograph: Composite

David Cameron's position must be serious.

At the launch of the new Conservative Voice Group on Tuesday morning, a group of Tories on the centre right of the party were muted in their criticisms of the prime minister. The group was originally set up to put a brake on Cameron's modernisation project. On Tuesday members of the group simply said they wanted to ensure there is a strong Conservative voice as the party shares power with the Liberal Democrats.

Why kick an injured man while he is down, goes the thinking. The latest barb about Cameron doing the rounds, even in ministerial circles, is that he is fast becoming the Tories' new Ted Heath. This is one of the biggest insults in the Tory lexicon because it means that Cameron is weak and liable to embark on U-turns when under fire.